


Flesh and Bark

by LittleRukia



Category: The Hollow (Cartoon)
Genre: Bad Ending, F/M, Forced Pregnancy, Impregnation, Loss of Virginity, Mira is sixteen which is the age of consent in my state, Not Canon Compliant, Object Insertion, Porn With Plot, Rape, Rape/Non-con Elements, Ritual Public Sex, Ritual Sex, Shameless Smut, Slight Mira & Kai, Underage Rape/Non-con, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, but she's still underage.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-08-05 03:15:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16359653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleRukia/pseuds/LittleRukia
Summary: To create Ishibo, Akuma stole a limb of living wood. To give Ishibo life, he will need to steal something more precious. Luckily, the one thing he needs is currently rotting in his dungeon along with her two friends.





	Flesh and Bark

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this after watching episode 4, "The Lighthouse," of The Hollow. It's very canon divergent and based entirely on conjecture for where the series will go from here (meaning I hadn't finished the series yet and none of the revelations made in later episodes were taken into account). This is just some shameless smut that popped into my head because I'm an awful human being. Read the tags if you don't believe me.
> 
> This is probably going to be only 4 chapters long but the last time I planned a story, it tripled in length and tried to veer completely off-course so we'll see. At least I had no misgivings about whether or not this would be plotless from the outset!

Atop the great, floating island where the Akki Monk temple was built, Mira, Kai, and Adam collapsed in a heap and panted to catch their breath. Their limbs were sore and their muscles tight from the climb and from the adrenaline of Kai's near miss leaving their bodies at last. None of them had anticipated the physical toll this new leg of their journey would have on them. Now, as they rested for what felt like the first time in months, they knew how difficult it would be to return to their feet.  
  
"Y'know, guys," Kai started, breaking the silence, "we could just... take a break for a while. Rest. I-I mean, I think Mira's pretty tired and we could all use the breather! What'd'ya say?"  
  
Adam and Mira shared a knowing look, the former shaking his head as the latter stifled giggles.  
  
"No, Kai. We don't have time for a 'breather.' No matter how tired _Mira_ is." Adam retorted, though his tone was not as chastising as his words.  
  
Kai visibly slumped at this response, but perked up as Mira offered him a strengthening smile and gently squeezed his hand.  
  
"C'mon, Kai. You remember what the Ironwood Tree said. If we get her branch back from these guys, she can send us home!"  
  
The redheaded boy looked unenthused. As Adam and Mira stood to their feet (not without a groan or the sound of several popping joints), the dark haired girl extended a hand to their companion. His face flushed slightly and he cleared his throat quickly while forcing himself to his feet unaided. Kai couldn't afford to look weak or pathetic in front of Mira!  
  
"Yeah, well, I'm sure _you two_ are perfectly fine buying that story, but _I_ seem to remember a certain trio of witches who 'only wanted to feed us' not that long ago. I'm not exactly keen on falling into another trap, be it from this tree lady or these so-called demon monks. I just think we should be careful and take breaks where we can so we don't get caught unawares!"  
  
"Alright, Kai, we get it. We need to take care of ourselves, too. I promise. We'll just take a quick look around and see if we can figure out where this stick is. Then, we'll fall back, gather our strength, and come up with a plan of action. Deal?"  
  
Grinning with the satisfaction of being acknowledged, Kai stood up a little straighter, his fingers curled into fists at his side.  
  
"Deal! Now let's go find this Ichigo!"  
  
A groan went up between Mira and Adam, who actually slapped his forehead as Mira's earlier giggles bubbled over. The redhead paled in embarrassment, which only accentuated his humiliated blush all the more.  
  
"Uhh... was it something I said?"  
  
Rolling his eyes, Adam began to lead the way into the night. As silently as they could manage, Mira and Kai followed behind their attuned comrade, relying heavily on his keen sense to warn them of coming danger. The air around them was still and soundless; only the soft padding of bare feet on stone met their ears as they made their way forward.  
  
The floating structure wasn't large or difficult to navigate, but the darkness that surrounded them put their minds on edge and made monsters out of flickering shadows of nothing. More than once Kai went crashing into Mira's back as they crept on, yelping with fright at being startled before being shushed at by his companions. Shame churned in his gut at each slip up and though Mira and Adam assured him everything was alright, he couldn't help silently cursing himself for his clumsiness. Why couldn't _he_ get cool super senses or animal boons?!  
  
After what could have been an hour, the trio finally reached the great wall surrounding the temple. The smooth white stone had no purchase to find for climbing feet and the only entryway they could find was suspiciously unguarded. When a complete perimeter check of the site revealed no other options or leads, the teens found cover beneath a nearby tree consumed by shadow. Crouching to take up as little space as possible and make themselves harder to spot, Adam leaned forward to whisper above the almost deafening silence.  
  
"Okay, listen. This place looks unguarded but we already know we can't just go waltzing in. If it's a trap, we need to be as prepared as possible and to do that, someone needs to go scope the place out from the inside." Mira inhaled as if about to speak and, hearing her ready to volunteer, Kai shifted and, albeit much more reluctantly, prepared to step in.  
  
" _Preferably_ , that someone should be able to sneak in and out without being seen or heard," Kai could hear Mira leaning in more intently, almost eager to call dibs on this dangerous mission, but as the list of requirements lengthened, he realized he was already out of the running. How was he supposed to protect Mira from her hair-brained bravado if he had nothing to bring to the table in exchange?!  
  
"But if something goes wrong they would _also_ need to be able to fight their way out or escape without risking bodily harm." A defeated groan rumbled from the dark-haired girl as this last prerequisite soundly knocked her from the list as well.  
  
"Wait a minute, if you're the only one capable of doing it anyway, why didn't you just say so instead of making a big production of it?!" Leaning forward, Kai whispered into Adam's ear harshly. "You're just trying to show off in front of Mira, aren't you?! Aren't you?!" A jealous finger jabbed at Adam's chest, but he laughed and gently pushed it away.  
  
"Dude, chill, it's not like that at all. You're the only one here who wants to show off in front of our mutual friend, alright?" Adam poked Kai's ribs with his elbow goodnaturedly and the redhead sighed in self-defeat.  
  
"Show off in front of who now?" The girl's voice made Kai jump and he was certain his blush was visible even in total darkness.  
  
"N-nothing! We were just talking about, uhhh... sh-showing that Akuma jerk what for! Yeah, that's it! Teaching him a lesson about stealing limbs from trees! Especially living ones! Er, well, all trees are living, but this one is sentient and I mean, you were there you know what I'm talking about and I was just--"  
  
"Kai! We get it! Somebody's gonna hear you!"  
  
Slumping down slightly, he whined his predicament into the shadows and muttered an apology. At least his foolishness was always good for a reassuring pat on the shoulder from Mira, but Kai wasn't sure if it just cemented his position as the failure of the group or not.  
  
"Alright, I'm gonna go see what I can find and then report back. If you don't hear from me in twenty minutes..."  
  
"There's no hope for us and we should just abandon this mission. Got it."  
  
" _Kai_."  
  
The scolding-mother tone in Mira's voice actually made him flinch and he settled down on his haunches and, finally, shut his mouth.  
  
"Be careful, Adam. We don't know what these things are capable of, especially with Ishibo in their hands."  
  
"Ishibo? But I thought it was--"  
  
" _Kai!_ "  
  
"Alright, alright! Jeeze..."  
  
Adam shook his head, the sound of his thick hair rustling as he did so giving him away in the gloom. There was a press of fabric as he gripped Mira's shoulder in a wordless promise to do as she asked (to say nothing of the strength he tried to share with her for the most daunting task she had ahead-- keeping Kai quiet and calm while the taller boy was away). With a smile none of them could see, Adam lifted his pack over his shoulder, carefully slid it into Kai's lap for safe keeping, and stole away from their cover and into the moonless night.  
  
There was a rustling as Mira made to sit down next to Kai on the soft grasses under the lone tree and she leaned on his shoulder as she settled onto her thighs. Despite himself, he gave her hand a gentle pat before she pulled it back and, although he couldn't see it, he could feel his ears turn red with the appreciative smile that passed between them. Adjusting uncomfortably and suddenly self-conscious, Kai cleared his throat as quietly as he could and peered out in the direction of the temple.  
  
"So what happens if Adam doesn't come back in twenty minutes?"  
  
"We go in there after him, duh."  
  
Kai blanched. "R-right! Duh, of course, haha! How silly of me to think otherwise." He fell silent for a few moments then, trying not to fidget.  
  
"Kai, it's okay. We've got this. Adam's really strong and he knows how to handle himself. I'm sure he'll be back in no time and then we can figure out what to do next."  
  
Jealousy bubbles in Kai's chest at the praise Mira lauded on their friend. She was right, of course, and she had always been just as liberal with her praise of _him_ when he deserved it, but it didn't stop the ugliness of envy from rearing its head.  
  
"Oh, sure, good ol' Adam! You can always count on _him_ to save the day! Adam with his super strength and his super speed and his super reflexes and his super _hair_! He's just _so_ perfect! I'm sure he'll come through like he always does!"  
  
"Kai, what is the _matter_ with you?! Are you _jealous_ of Adam? Look, I know you don't feel like you have--"  
  
"So what's the first thing you're going to do when you get home?"  
  
The abrupt change in subject caught Mira off-guard. She frowned in the general direction of her wavering companion and wanted to push the subject more-- to assure Kai that no one in the group felt he was inadequate or unimportant-- but with a sigh, she let him drop the topic at hand and addressed his new question.  
  
"Home? Uhh, I mean, I'm not really sure. I don't know the first thing about that place, y'know? Not what it looks like, not where I'm supposed to be. I don't even know what my family looks like-- if I even have any."  
  
The sobering answer was not one Kai had expected. He had regretted his earlier childish outburst almost immediately and had hoped the wishful daydreams of what they would do when they got home would be a nice segue into something less embarrassing. But now there was this awkward silence between them that made his stomach twist with guilt for even having asked. She was right ( _of course she was, she was always right, that was one of the things he loved about her_ ) and he should have known better than to ask. Now he just felt like a bigger screw up and he didn't know how to fix it.  
  
"Maybe we'll get our memories back when we go home."  
  
"...you think so?"  
  
The hope in her voice made his heart hurt in a way he couldn't explain.  
  
"Y-yeah! I mean, what if we can't remember anything because of whatever brought us all here in the first place? If this is an alternate reality like Adam thought, maybe coming here erased our memories! Or-or maybe because this an alternate reality, we don't have memories of _this_ place because our minds are reaching for what we remember of our home and since it doesn't exist here, we can't remember it!"  
  
"That... actually kinda makes sense when you put it that way. So do you think that by going home to our actual reality, the memories we have of that reality will return?"  
  
There was a hint of excitement in her voice and it made his face burn with pride. _He_ had done that. _He_ had given her hope. He leaned forward in the contagious feeling of mounting excitement.  
  
"Yeah! All we have to do is step back across realities when the Ironwood tree opens up the way and poof! All our memories will be there!"  
  
A strange sort of silence fell over her then and Kai reeled in the uncertainty of it. What was she thinking now?  
  
"...does that mean we'll lose all our memories of our time here? If we can't remember home because we're in a different reality than home, then wouldn't returning to a different reality than here erase _these_ memories, too?"  
  
Oh. That... was a difficult question to answer, to even _consider_. After all, here there was Mira (and Adam-- because at the end of the day, when he wasn't being stupidly jealous over the dark-haired girl or stubborn in his own little Kai way, he actually really liked and appreciated Adam) and here he could hotwire space ships and save pretty girls and maybe sometimes spend time alone with them on a daring adventure. He didn't want to lose his memories of _here_ , but he couldn't stand not knowing who he was, who his family might be, what _home_ was like. Squirming slightly in the silence that resumed and stretched between them, he scooted closer to Mira and put a hand on her knee.  
  
"W-well, if we're talking about the possibility of losing our memories of here when we go home, let's make a pact. The three of us! Er, well, when Adam gets back we can make it the three of us, but a-anyway, uhm... let's promise to do our best not to forget each other. Or-or to try and meet again on the other side so we can still be friends! We've been through a lot together and it seems... sad to forget it all, even if it means we get to go home. So let's promise to find each other on the other side and remember! No matter what it takes!"  
  
Mira was giggling now and Kai could feel his breath leaving him in heavy exhales, as if he'd just run a relay race. The sound of her laughter made his face turn red, but he was feeling better than he had since they'd landed in this place.  
  
"Oh, Kai, you sure know how to put a smile on my face."  
  
"Hey! Maybe that's my super power! Making pretty girls smile!"  
  
His heart collapsed into his gut as soon as the words left his mouth. _Stupid_! He'd just called her pretty _out_ _loud_! His toes curled with the depth of his shame and he tried to clear his throat and say something to cover his slip up, but his nervous laughter came out as a squeak and he quickly realized he was only making things worse instead of better.  
  
"...you think I'm pretty?"  
  
The even, unreadable tone of her voice made Kai want to fade away into nothing, but as he whined his resignation to owning up to what he'd said, he found his voice surprisingly steady.  
  
"Well yeah. I mean, you are. A-anyone can see that! Even in the dark, haha!"  
  
A breathy laugh answered his declaration and he could have sworn he _felt_ her face light up as she searched for the words to say. Suddenly possessed by a need to ease the tension, Kai groped madly in the dark for Mira's hands and held them aloft between them. He still breathed heavily but he could barely hear it over the sound of his heart thundering in his ears.  
  
"Mira, no matter what happens, I don't want to forget you. A-and being your friend is more important to me than anything else! So, let's just promise to stay friends and remember each other, come what may!"  
  
Mira's hands flexed in his own and he heard her smile.  
  
"Kai... thank you. I... I don't want to forget you either."  
  
Silence once again fell between them and although Kai couldn't gauge whether she had been about to follow her statement up with a "but..." or an "and..." he maintained his hold on her hands. He'd meant every word he'd said and he would happily keep his feelings to himself until they were safe and home if it meant they could just stay as the close, good friends their situation had made them. But then there was a rustling as Mira shifted, not pulling her hands away but leaning closer. Kai's breath caught in his throat and the quiet around them made his ears feel like a vacuum as he strained to listen for movement or sound.  
  
Mira was close now, her face searching in the dark for Kai's and he leaned in to meet her, to aid in her search, uncharacteristically quiet and shy now. The warmth of Mira's breath was on his face and it was the sweetest thing Kai had ever smelled. Closing his eyes, although it did nothing to change how much he could see, Kai leaned further in, tentatively reaching for Mira's lips with his own.  
  
"Mira! Kai! You two still here?"  
  
The sharp whisper of Adam's voice broke the reverie of the moment and Kai only just restrained a loud, disappointed groan at the interruption. He could hear Mira giggle quietly as she pulled away and he wondered if he'd been as successful at silencing his protestations as he thought he had. Still, despite the blackness they were drowned in that ultimately eliminated any risk of being seen, Mira was quickly scooting away from him and Kai glared in the last direction from which he'd heard Adam's voice.  
  
"Adam! What did you find out?"  
  
_"Yeah, Adam, what did you find out that couldn't wait two more minutes?"_  
  
Mira elbowed Kai in the ribs so hard he yelped as the breath left his lungs, but if Adam had heard what he'd said, the dark-haired teen made no mention of it.  
  
"Okay, so you know how the entryway wasn't guarded?"  
  
"Which is super suspect and obviously a trap, yes."  
  
"Well when I couldn't find any other way through, I decided to hop the fence--"  
  
"The _fence_? You _hopped_ the **_fence_**? You mean the _eight foot tall solid wall_? **_That_** fence?"  
  
"C'mon, Kai, we've seen Adam do similarly death-defying stunts before."  
  
"Yeah but I didn't know he was a _ninja_ on top of everything else!"  
  
" _Anyway_! I _scaled the wall_ and when I went exploring the grounds for signs of guards or sentries or whatever, there was nothing! Not a single monk, demon or otherwise, to be found!"  
  
"What?! That's impossible! You must have overlooked something. Are you sure you didn't overlook something?"  
  
" _Yes_ , I'm sure, Kai. I crept around the temple to see if I could figure out just what was going on and I found them! Every single one of them! Or, as near as I can guess. They're all still as statues sitting in the main entry hall. They look like they're asleep."  
  
"But wait, why would they all be asleep? I mean, I get that it's nighttime but they're demon warrior monks that supposedly have the ultimate weapon of power. Shouldn't they be... I dunno, off conquering or something?"  
  
"It sounds like a trap. Adam was lucky to get out of there when he did. They were probably just waiting to spring it."  
  
"Actually, we were far more interested in finding out just how many of you there were and where you were hiding before we made our move."  
  
The foreign, unfamiliar voice stole the breath from the trio of teens as the dark baritone sound seemed to come from all directions. Kai instinctively moved back toward Mira, grabbing her hand for strength as much as to reassure her. Adam was quickly at their side, the three of them pressed tightly together to cover all possible weak points. Grasping the strap of Adam's pack with his empty hand, Kai raised it over his head as if preparing to strike.  
  
"Adam, this isn't just some practical joke, right? You sure you didn't discover some newfound ability to throw your voice while you were gone?"  
  
"If I did, do you really think I would use it at a time like this?!"  
  
"...good point. Now what?"  
  
"Now we fight!"  
  
Mira's voice was unwavering despite the slight tremor in her fingers. A foreboding laugh answered her bravado.  
  
" _Now_ , you three will come with me. My master Akuma is most eager to meet you."


End file.
